We've gotten a couple of interesting tweets from Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, reporting San Francisco's interest in the Reds' Ramon Hernandez, as well as possible interest in the Cubs' catchers, Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill.
Schulman noted that the Giants like Hernandez, while suggesting that he's not sure why the contending Reds would have any interest in trading the catcher. Hernandez, 35, is hitting .307/.368/.500 on the year, continuing a late-career offensive resurgence that began last season. Generally a low-BABIP hitter, his career mark is at .279, he's been above .310 since the beginning of 2010, so it's likely that his numbers dip from here, but he'd still be a nice upgrade for the Giants behind the plate.
The Reds may see an opportunity to get value for Hernandez while his stock is up, particularly given the organization's ridiculous catching depth. Beyond Hernandez, they already have Ryan Hanigan and his impressive on-base skills locked up through next season, and Devin Mesoraco, arguably the best catching prospect in the game, has been slugging it up with Triple-A Louisville all season long. Then again, people are probably getting flashbacks to the Texas Rangers' supposed catching depth of 2008.
Interest in the Cubs' duo is new, as we haven't really heard much trade talk about Soto or Hill to date. Soto would obviously be a major chip on the trade market because he's only making $3 million this year and he's under team control through 2013, but the Cubs probably aren't ready to trade him. As for Hill, I suppose his defense would have value, but I'm not a big fan so I certainly wouldn't give up much for the punchless veteran.